


la luna a tus pies pusiera

by SeasideFantasties



Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Anniversary, Coco Locos Fluff Off, F/M, Héctor is a good husband, Imelda needs to relax more, romantic dinner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 00:57:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17254634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeasideFantasties/pseuds/SeasideFantasties
Summary: Héctor only wants to take her out to dinner. Surely this is the only reason why he's asked her what plans she has for the evening, why he's being deliberately vague about where he wants to meet, how he hasn't let her know any other details other than what time she should arrive.In retrospect, Imelda really should have paid more attention to the potential significance of the date.(Posted for Fluff Off 2018, prompt was "“Dinner by candle light, what did I do to deserve this?”)





	la luna a tus pies pusiera

“You don’t have any plans for tonight, do you?”

The quiet question was enough to make Imelda pause in her work as she glanced up from her stitching, unsure of whether she had heard Héctor correctly or not. When no confirmation of such a thing occurred, she directed her attention back to the sole she was attempting to sew on, scowling as her eyes ran over a crooked stitch that she had unintentionally made. “For once, I don’t think I do. Why do you ask, _mi amor_?” She tried to ignore how calling him such still sent a small thrill through her system, even after he’d spent months within the family residence, and even longer than that getting used to having an actual family to rely on once more. Imelda, in all her stubbornness and anger, had spent so long pushing any painful reminders of her late husband away that she’d almost forgotten what a relief it was to have him by her side once more, had almost forgotten what a doting husband he had been. Just this morning, he had gently awoken her by planting chaste kisses upon her cheekbones until she’d playfully batted him away, and it had felt so _normal_ that she had been filled with a rush of guilt on how she’d tried so hard to banish any remnants of him from the family for what seemed like the millionth time.

How could she have forgotten what a devoted husband and father he had been, to think that he would abandon her and Coco so easily? How could she have never noticed that he looked so youthful in the Land of the Dead next to her, how his bones had grown duller and more brittle with every time that he attempted to approach her? She’d pushed it away until she had more or less been forced into confronting the problem, and for as angry as she had been Imelda couldn’t deny that she had never meant to hurt Héctor quite as thoroughly as she had. She had been hurt over his supposed betrayal, yes, but she’d never wished for him to be Forgotten- hadn’t even _considered_ the idea that her actions could have led to him becoming such- and seeing him shudder violently with every shimmer of golden light that ran through his body had sent a spike of terror through her system. She’d come so close to losing him a second time, and not being able to repair the damage until it was too late.

But instead Héctor was here now, still in one piece, his bones not quite as white as the rest of the family’s but not looking so terrifyingly brittle anymore, and she was more grateful for his presence than she ever had been. So it was that she watched patiently as he worried at the straw hat that was now clutched into his hands, smiling the crooked smile that he always did when attempting to deflect the topic of conversation elsewhere. “Eh…no reason. No reason at all, ‘Melda. You just need breaks, same as the rest of us do, _s_ _í_?”

“ _Héctor_ ,” she drawled in mock exasperation, setting her work down and placing her hands upon the table as she squinted suspiciously. “You are, and always have been, a _terrible_ liar. Now tell me what you’re planning, or else-“

“Who says I’m planning anything?” he shot back, dancing away in an attempt to keep some distance between the two of them. “ _You’re_ the one jumping to conclusions, _I-mel-di-ta_.” He drawled out her old nickname as he said it, his eye ridges waggling comically as she sputtered in indignation.

“Now _see here_ , Héctor Rivera-“

“And even if I am, you’ll just have to wait to see it, _eh_?” He stepped closer then, bending down to plant a kiss upon her brow before she could even begin formulating a response. “ _Perdóname_ , ‘Melda?”  

Between the borderline puppy eyes that he was giving her and the fact that she had spent long enough being angry at him for things that had ultimately been beyond his control, Imelda found that she couldn’t stay angry at her husband for long. Sighing softly, she raised herself on the balls of her feet to return the kiss, her posture slackening slightly. “Fine. But just _what_ is so important that you’d feel the need to ask whether I had plans for tonight?” He should have known better than to think that a simple kiss would be enough to get her mind off what he had said earlier, after all. For all the faults that she carried with her, sometimes her habit of stubbornly digging her heels in and refusing to yield when her mind was set on something _could_ be beneficial, and if it could drag information out of Héctor in that moment she’d consider it all the better.

But Héctor clearly wasn’t about to tuck tail and admit what his plans were just yet- almost as if he had been ready for her to continue questioning him- and instead of answering he stepped away again, wagging his finger as though he was scolding a misbehaving child instead of interacting with his wife. “ _Ah_ , that would ruin the surprise, _mi amor_! But if you _must_ know-“ He bent forward then, voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. “You know that _restaurante_ that’s in the _plaza_ , by the Department of Family Reunions? If you could be there…around _siete y cuarto_ , that would be great! And maybe dress up a little? Whatever you feel like.” He sounded so eager, so enthusiastic about the evening to come, that it almost reminded her of the early days of their romance then- how he would seek her out to ask her if she was available on certain evenings, practically tripping over himself in his haste to get her to come and see him preform, or go to dinner with him at one of the local _cantinas_ , or simply sit by the river and enjoy the peacefulness of nature. There wasn’t quite as much of that youthful awkwardness there now, but there was still a healthy amount of hesitation and doubt in his voice, giving her full room to refuse if she felt like doing so, and for a moment it was almost as if they were back where they had originally started all over again.

He only wanted to have dinner with her. That was simple enough. Surely she could put aside any responsibilities of hers to enjoy some alone time with her husband- alone time that was getting increasingly scarce these days, what with the amount of orders that they’d received from new customers lately. It seemed that her little stunt at the Sunrise Spectacular had earned her quite a few fans in the Land of the Dead, and though Imelda was grateful for the boost to business that it brought, she wasn’t quite as fond of the idea of suddenly having to be in the spotlight, suddenly having to put extra weight on her shoulders to handle the rush of orders that had come in. A chance to properly relax might be nice, for a change.

So it was that Imelda let the ghost of a smile come onto her lips as she sat there, putting her work aside for a moment- she could always return to it later that evening, after all, assuming that dinner didn’t take up most of her time. “I know the place, _s_ _í_. I will be there.” As long as he didn’t intend on forcing her to take those blasted trolleys all the way there. Those things looked like they would fall apart if someone so much as breathed on them the wrong way, after all, and though nothing serious could technically come of a malfunction, the fact that a large part of the system went through the air was more than a bit disconcerting to Imelda. At least when flying with Pepita, she felt secure enough to relax in spite of the altitude. On the trolleys, there was no protection but a flimsy sheet of metal between the passengers and the hard ground, and Imelda would rather not have taken her chances with something that looked so haphazardly put together.  

Héctor beamed widely at her words, almost seeming to vibrate with energy as he stepped away. “ _Bueno_! Then it’s a date. I’ll see you there, _mi amor_!” He skipped away then, looking more like an excited toddler than a respectable adult- and just when she thought that was the end of it, chuckling under her breath before returning to her sewing, he stuck his head through the doorway to deliver one last set of hurried words. “Oh! And, _eh_ , make sure to take the trolleys. I have something else in mind after dinner. Don’t worry, there’s a route that doesn’t go through the air…too much. You’ll be fine!”

… _Dios_ , she was going to kill him.

***

After finishing what was left of her work that evening and donning a slightly more formal outfit than the one she ordinarily wore- discarding the shoemaker’s apron for a dress that was the same rich purple in shade, but had a thin ring of yellow around the collar, something which she rarely wore unless the formality of certain social events called for it- and after what was quite frankly the most nerve-wracking trolley ride she had ever undertaken in her life, Imelda found herself at the entrance to the aforementioned restaurant, the hustle and bustle of others around her barely phasing her as she stared at the lights flickering within. If someone asked her whether she was afraid of stepping through the doors, she would have vehemently denied it, reacting with anger over someone assuming that she was afraid of a simple entrance into an establishment. She would have dismissed such a thing as foolish, surely. But…was it?

She had no way of knowing whether Héctor was even going to show up, after all. Imelda would never suspect him of pulling a cruel trick on her, not in a million years, but she had honestly been amazed that he hadn’t harbored more resentment towards her for all the mistreatment that she had shown him over the years- what if he deliberately arrived late, just to make his displeasure known? But surely that wouldn’t happen. He’d seemed so delighted about the prospect of spending quality time with her, and Héctor had never been an expert at hiding his true emotions. Every action that he took, every emotion he showed, was always laid bare for the world to see. Especially when compared with her, when she was much more content to bottle up her emotions, to not let anyone see something that might be interpreted as weakness within her. Imelda had spent so long putting up a strong front for those closest to her, never letting them know the true depth of her pain over Héctor’s disappearance that she hardly knew how to begin letting loose and showing the softer sides of her more readily, and she thanked the heavens that her husband was now here beside her to remind her of just how to do that.

But the more she stood there, the more thoughts of just how this could go wrong plagued her. What if she’d shown up at the wrong time, or this was the wrong restaurant- she’d _tried_ to make sense of the directions that she’d been given, but one wrong turn could have easily led her miles away from her actual destination, given the huge scale of the city- and she’d ended up making a fool of herself unintentionally? What if she was wearing entirely the wrong kind of attire for this type of atmosphere?

It was times like this that she desperately wished to have Pepita beside her. Her alebrije’s presence had always been a calming one, helping her to center herself, helping her to make the tougher decisions in her life. What she wouldn’t give for a chance to bury her face into that soft fur and hear that comforting, soft purr-

“ _I-mellllllllll-da_!” The frenzied shout was all the warning that she got before Héctor practically slammed into her in his haste to greet her, only a very swift pivot on one foot preventing him from bowling her over altogether as he reached out to steady both of them. A moment later he seemed to realize what he had done, pulling away with a sheepish smile that was quick to stretch into a more genuine one. “Ah, _mi amor_ , you made it! Not that I doubted for a _second_ that you would, obviously, but I was worried the map I gave you was too complicated and-“

“You’re rambling,” she muttered, reaching up with a finger to place it upon his lips. “I did make it here, even on that…that _maldito_ trolley that everyone dares to call a good source of transportation. This _is_ the right place, _s_ _í_?” She peered through the doors again, squinting at what little she could gather of the restaurant’s interior through the cracks. From what she could see, the establishment looked rather formal- in fact, almost _too_ formal for her and Héctor’s tastes. Had Héctor had any idea on what kind of restaurant it was before he had picked the setting for their night alone, or had that been completely up to guesswork as well?

“Yes, it is,” Héctor hummed, reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair away from her cheekbones. “And you look _muy bonita_ as always, _mi amor_.”  

“So do you,” she murmured, smiling softly. “Just what are you wearing?” She’d allowed herself to look at his outfit for the first time, and she could now see that it was a version of the _charro_ suits that he’d worn in life, though much less embellished than anything Ernesto had ever worn while preforming. Rather than being bright blue or red in color, this one was a muted navy that looked black in the right light, with golden threading throughout to give it a rather regal look. It was missing some of the standard touches, of course- there was no proud _sombrero_ perched upon her husband’s head, and the extravagant belt that would often accompany such a look was missing, but it was still a much more formal outfit than what Héctor normally wore from day to day, and she didn’t quite know whether to be bewildered or impressed over the amount of dedication that he’d put into his appearance. Somehow he’d even managed to tame that tangled mop that he called a wig, if the slight shine to the hairs was any indication.

“I, _ah_ …owed Ceci a few favors,” he said, waving his hand as though lessening the impact of the words. “Guess after I did enough work with her, she decided I was…eh, forgiven? Or something. Said she had this lying around, made me _promise_ to bring it back in one piece. _Dios_ , that woman can be _muy intimidante_.” He shuddered comically then, and Imelda couldn’t help the laugh that came bubbling out of her then, bright and cheerful, the kind that he had often drawn out of her when they were still living. He smiled gently in response, directing his gaze away from her for a moment to gaze at the doorway before turning back. “Ready to see what I had in mind, ‘Melda?”

“As ready as I’ll ever…what are you doing?” She broke off in the middle of her sentence as Hector stepped up behind her, peering up at him quizzically as he held his hands up in a defensive gesture.

“I wanted it to be a surprise, _no_?” he replied, tilting his head to one side quizzically. “Just close your eyes and I’ll let you know where to go, _eh_? It’ll be an adventure.”

For a moment she simply quirked the ridge of an eyebrow at him, wondering whether he was being serious or not. When no indication that he was joking came to her, Imelda sighed heavily, deciding that she could entertain him if nothing else. Squeezing her eyes shut in silent obedience and trying not to grit her teeth at the thought of just how ridiculous she would look, Imelda delivered one last soft set of words to Héctor, hoping that he could hear her above the bustle of the crowd. “You had _better_ not let me walk into anything or fall, _idiota_.”

“When have I ever put you in harm’s way, _mi amor_? You wound me.” His breath was a soft rush of air against her neck as he directed her, his hold gentle but firm as he directed her through the entrance, up a flight of stairs- she distantly heard the murmur of the crowd, resisting the urge to clench her fists as she wondered just what they would think of the entire situation- and onto a flatter surface. All the while he continued to murmur soft words of reassurance, occasionally guiding her another way through firmer touches along her spine and hips, and though part of her protested at the thought of being led around as though she were some prized cattle, another part of her couldn’t help but submit to his gentle touch, letting him do with her what he pleased. This entire night had been _his_ idea, after all. It would only be polite to go along with what he wanted, for a change.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Héctor finally stopped her, shambling footsteps around her indicating that he had stepped away from her side. “Alright, now you can open your eyes and… _mira, mira,_ this is the spot I managed to snag for us, ‘Melda!” His excitement was so contagious in that moment that Imelda couldn’t help but smile, opening her eyes slowly to take in whatever was in front of her- only to gasp softly at the sight that met them. They’d managed to step out upon a balcony of the building that the restaurant was situated in, a small table and chairs for two being set up with a small holder sitting squarely in the middle, bright orange dahlias sprouting from the center and adding a touch of color to the table- whoever had set it had clearly known her preference for the bright flowers- and as she stepped forward, she could see small candles set around the center, glimmering proudly in the low light. And the view… _Dios_ , the view of the city was incredible from this vantage point, leading all the way down to where the sun was setting over the waters, casting a brilliant red and orange glow over the Land of the Dead.

It was several moments before Imelda could find her voice in the midst of her amazement, and even then her voice seemed more hushed than she would have liked, more trembling with what could have been nerves or amazement. “Dinner by candle light? What did I do to deserve this, Héctor?”

Héctor simply beamed up at her from his seated position at the table, his eyes sparkling almost as brightly as the flames of the candles. “ _Feliz aniversario, mi amor_.”

Their anniversary. Heavens above, their _anniversary_. She’d been so caught up in filling shoe orders lately that she’d completely forgotten about the date in question, completely forgotten about the significance of the day to even question why Héctor might want to have dinner out instead of settling for a simple dinner at home. It was easy enough for her to forget about other responsibilities that needed attending to in the midst of a particularly stressful work session, but the thought that she could have forgotten a day that was so special to both her and another member of her family was enough to send a rush of guilt through her. Just when she had finally started making steps to introduce Héctor into the family again, when she’d been trying to make him feel welcome, she had only managed to remind herself of the extent that she’d pushed any reminders of him away all over again. “ _Lo siento_ , Héctor. I didn’t even think to get you anything-“ she started, but Héctor simply politely held up a hand to silence her, standing up from his spot at the table and crossing to her side.

“I don’t need anything, Imelda. I wanted to do this for _you_.” He reached forward to cradle the curve of one of her cheekbones then, pressing a gentle kiss to it before continuing. “You’ve been so…so _strong_ lately, taking care of our _familia_ and the shoe business, and I’m still getting used to all of this…but I _do_ know that you’re passionate about what you’re doing, and I love that about you. I _always_ have. And I wanted to show you that, _mi amor_. But I think you also needed a break, sí? You’ve been looking a little tired lately.”

“I have,” she murmured, leaning into his touch slightly. “I _have_ been tired. You’ve seen the amount of orders coming in lately, _no_?”  

“I have, but we can let the rest of the family deal with it for a little while, right? You need the relaxation, _I-mel-di-ta_ ,” he drawled out, laughing when she playfully batted at him in an attempt to keep him from saying the old childhood nickname that a part of her had always been embarrassed by. “So I got this spot- I used to come up here to play, sometimes. Old Juan in the kitchen would sneak me some _comida_ , and I’d watch the sunset from here. It has one of the best views in the whole city. Convinced him to help me get the _flores_ too. We can eat a nice _cena_ , all by ourselves, and then we can go wherever you like. There’s a new zoo that just opened up in the next district over, or one of the parks-“

“ _Gracias_ , Héctor, but I think-“ And here she returned the kiss that he had given her, every bit as passionate and deep as she could give it. A moment later she pulled away, staring at him slyly. “I think we should enjoy _this_ moment, _no_?”

“Absolutely,” he whispered breathlessly, reaching a hand up to ruffle through his hair out of nervous habit. “But let me kiss you one more time before that happens, _no_? I can’t get over how good you look.” He bent down to plant a series of quick pecks upon her cheeks then, smiling at the embarrassed squeals the action elicited. “ _Muy bonita, mi esposa-_ “

“ _Callate_ , you charmer,” she sputtered, making as though she was about to pull away but ultimately letting him pull her into one last deep kiss, letting her actions speak of her gratefulness towards the effort that he had put forth for her where words could not. She had truly needed to relax after the stress that this week had brought to her, and as usual Héctor had anticipated her needs and accommodated them perfectly, leaving her yet another reminder of what a doting husband he was even after death, and making any lingering resentment that she still held towards him banish itself even further.

And if any of the kitchen staff happened to come upstairs and see the overly affectionate display, well, for once she wouldn’t complain about what they thought.

It was _her_ anniversary, after all. She felt she was a bit entitled to letting loose tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Some research notes: 
> 
> \- Don't ever search "restaurants in Mexico" unless you want to wade through like ten pages worth of business advertisements. There's a reason I didn't describe the interior of the restaurant. Not that it's not important, but pictures don't tell you much about the general atmosphere of a place, you know? 
> 
> \- Dahlias are one of the flowers that are native to Mexico, usually a bright reddish-orange in color. Don't ask how a bunch of live ones somehow ended up in the LOTD. Probably Disney magic. 
> 
> \- Dinner is usually eaten anywhere from 7-9 PM in Mexico. I tried to take this into account during the story. 
> 
> \- Title is a line from "La Llorona", roughly translated as "The moon at your feet I'd put, (Llorona)". It felt appropriate for a romantic story.


End file.
